If you haven't already guessed by the fact that I mention Fall Out Boy in practically every blog post, I am a HUGE FOB fan. I am also eagerly waiting to see them grace the stage of Vector Arena in Feburary.

I also just found out who the support acts are for the FOB tour.

Cobra Starship, Metro Station, and Hey Monday.

And I'm pissed.

A Fall Out Boy tour supported by three wannabe Fall Out Boys.

I can see it now: an entire mosh pit jumping up and down to Metro Station, me standing there giving Mason Musso the finger, me being visciously attacked by cellphone-yeilding MySpace whores. (I mean that in the nicest way possible).

The support acts aren't necessarily bad bands, but I would struggle to call them good bands too. But the real reason I am pissed off with this line up is that they are all similar bands.

It's a fair argument to say that they will make a popular opening act for FOB because they're popular with young girls wearing too much make up (aka FOB's largest demographic), but why not choose groups with a slightly different sound than these pop/punk/techno power houses? At least that way the audience would be opened up to a different kind of music or may hear a band they've never heard of before.

I am honestly getting intensely sick and tired of the copious amounts of "pop/punk" bands making their way onto our ipods these days. I mean, good on the likes of Cobra Starship for getting a record contract and having some form of success, but what we really need on the radio is not less-musically-capable versions of Fall Out Boy, but something different - something less generic.

Although, I suppose a similar thing to the pop/punk wave happens every decade. In the '80s it was heavy metal bands writing heart felt power ballads, the '90s had indie and grunge bands pushing through.

On a lighter note, all said I am still looking forward to seeing FOB work their magic :)

If you haven't guessed it already, I'm talking about the 'Loudness Wars'.

And what are the Loudness Wars, and what does it have to do with Fall Out Boy you ask?

Basically, when a record goes in to be mixed, backround noises are eliminated and the volumes of certain intruments are changed. BUT, nowadays the volumes of all the instruments are being increased to the point of them sounding slurred together, and the entire song sounds loud the whole way through, rather than being softer in the verses and then louder in the chorus. This is what I like to call bad dynamic compression, and it is the fault of producers and mixers.

One would assume that if you enter the music industry and choose a career such as a producer or mixer, you'd have a passion for making good music. So why on earth would such a producer or mixer allow the quality of their music to suffer? This is where the war part of 'Loudness War' comes in.

Record companies believe that when your average teen is surfing the net for new music, if they hear a loud song it captures their attention and makes them want to listen to it and hopefully buy it. Fall Out Boy is a prime example of this.

Infinity on High and Folie a Deux are two of the most poorly engineered albums around - despite their amazing producers. To prove this, just put one of these albums into your stereo and look at the level of the bars that show the variation in volume. The bars will remain high and without much variation.

Now try playing an album like Jeff Buckley's Grace, The Cars' self titled album, or Nirvana's Nevermind. When Kurt Cobain screams - you feel it - because the album is not constantly loud.

Personally, I think it's a total injustice to the musical world. What ever happened to having music being based on the emotion of an intense chorus rather than how many kids on MySpace will download it?

Ok, so I know it's a huge risk these days going on the internet and writing the words 'fall out boy', but as a die hard FOB fan it's a risk I'm willing to take.

So right now I'm listening to 'Fall Out Boy's Evening out with Your Girlfriend' and thinking how the f*ck is it possible that they can go from "I can be your John Cusack" with thrashing unorderly guitars, to the power-ballad-sounding "I'm coming apart at the seams" in just 5 years?

Is it just me or do the lyrics - oh those glorious witty lyrics - keep getting more depressing? I mean Pete says it himself in 'The Disloyal Order of Water Buffaloes': "Perfect boys with their perfect lives: nobody wants to hear you sing about tragedy."

I mean I adore Pete's lyrics. I personally think they are some of the best in pop these days. But honestly, I would kill to be in the position that Pete's in right now: the king of his pop-punk kingdom. So I don't want to sound like I'm bitching about the fact that I don't (currently) have a rock star life style, but why not brighten it up a bit Petey boy?

All said, if FOB's lyrics did suddenly revolve around sunshine and rainbows rather than ex-girlfriends, I would probably be devastated. I mean let's face it: Pete Wentz's misery makes us love him. He is the confedant and phsyciatrist of millions of teens everywhere. Including me.

Anyway, to avoid being sued by FOB haters, FOB lovers, or Pete Wentz himself, I'll leave with saying this is all just my opinion and damn it I love those eye-makeup-wearing-marketing-genius's Fall Out freaking Boy.